Floral sleeve having an extendable skirt and methods

ABSTRACT

A plant packaging and covering system comprising a floral sleeve having a base portion and skirt portion. The sleeve may have an upper protective sleeve portion which can surround a plant disposed in a pot and which can be detached once the protective function of the sleeve has been completed thereby allowing the skirt portion to extend angularly from the base portion. The sleeve has a plurality of folds comprising expansion for allowing portions of the base portion to expand, and portions of the skirt portion to extend angularly, when a pot is disposed within the sleeve.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is a continuation of Ser. No. 10/084,743filed Feb. 20, 2002, which is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/929,699filed Aug. 14, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,040, which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/615,562 filed Jul. 13, 2000, now U.S.Pat. No. 6,298,602, which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/064,460filed Apr. 22, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,830, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/788,616 filed Jan. 24, 1997,now U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,171, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S.Ser. No. 08/237,078, filed May 3, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/220,852, filed Mar.31, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,851. Each of these applications ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention generally relates to sleeves, and, moreparticularly, sleeves used to wrap flower pots containing floralgroupings and/or mediums containing floral groupings, and methods ofusing same.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sleeve having a gusset and anupper detachable portion constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0004]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another sleeve having an upperdetachable portion and constructed in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0005]FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a sleeve having a gusset withoutan upper detachable portion and constructed in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0006]FIG. 4 is an elevational view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

[0007]FIG. 5 is an elevational view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

[0008]FIG. 6 is an elevational view of another sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

[0009]FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a sleeve having a connectingbonding material on the interior thereof.

[0010]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an opened version of the sleeve ofFIG. 1 having a potted plant disposed therein.

[0011]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a potted plant covered by a sleevesuch as the sleeve of any one of the sleeves of FIGS. 1-8.

[0012]FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a potted plant about to bedisposed within a sleeve of the present invention.

[0013]FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the potted plant of FIG. 10partially disposed within the sleeve of FIG. 10.

[0014]FIG. 12 is an elevational view of the potted plant of FIG. 10fully disposed within the sleeve of FIG. 10, wherein the arrows indicateoutward expansion of portions of the sleeve.

[0015]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the sleeve of the presentinvention showing the sleeve in an opened condition and wherein thesleeve comprises pleated folds.

[0016]FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve ofFIG. 13 except without an upper sleeve portion and with the skirtextended.

[0017]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve ofFIG. 13 except the expansion elements do not extend completely to theupper end and lower ends of the sleeve and extend at various lengthslongitudinally.

[0018]FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 15 takenalong the line 16-16 thereof.

[0019]FIG. 17 is a perspective view of another version of a sleeveconstructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the sleevecomprises z-shaped folds.

[0020]FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve ofFIG. 17 except without an upper sleeve portion and with the skirtextended.

[0021]FIG. 19 is a perspective view of sleeve similar to the sleeve ofFIG. 17 except the z-shaped folds do not extend completely to the upperend and lower end of the sleeve.

[0022]FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 19 takenalong the line 20-20 thereof.

[0023]FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an alternate version of a sleeveconstructed in accordance with the present invention wherein the sleevecomprises fluted or groove-shaped folds.

[0024]FIG. 22 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve ofFIG. 21 except without an upper sleeve portion and with the skirtextended.

[0025]FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a sleeve similar to the sleeve ofFIG. 21 except the fluted or groove-shaped folds do not extendcompletely to the upper end or lower end of the sleeve.

[0026]FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 23 takenalong the line 24-24 thereof.

[0027]FIG. 25A is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a skirt with an upper edgehaving a crenate or scalloped pattern.

[0028]FIG. 25B is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a skirt with an upper edgehaving an inverted crenate or scalloped pattern.

[0029]FIG. 25C is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a skirt with an upper edgehaving a crenulate, toothed, or zig-zag pattern.

[0030]FIG. 25D is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a skirt with an upper edgehaving a crenelated or rectangular-shaped pattern.

[0031]FIG. 25E is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a skirt with an upper edgehaving a diagonal pattern.

[0032]FIG. 25F is an elevational view of a sleeve constructed inaccordance with the present invention having a skirt with an upper edgehaving a curved or wavy pattern.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] The present invention contemplates a preformed sleeve forcovering a pot having an upper end, a lower end, and an outer peripheralsurface. The preformed sleeve comprises a base portion having an upperend, a lower end, and an interior space. A skirt portion extends fromthe upper end of the base portion. The sleeve comprises extension (orexpansion) elements which comprise a plurality of folds in the baseportion and in the skirt portion. The sleeve further comprises aconnected portion which is made up of folds in the base portion adjacentthe lower end of the skirt portion which are connected by an adhesive orcohesive bonding material. The connected portion may extend entirelycircumferentially about the upper end of the base portion, or may extendonly partially circumferentially about the upper end of the baseportion. The bonding material may be disposed on the outer surface ofthe base, the inner surface of the base, or both the inner and outersurfaces of the base. The connected portion functions to constrict theexpansion of an upper portion of the base portion such that when a potis disposed within the sleeve, pressure is exerted by the pot onto theconnected portion causing the skirt portion to extend at an angle to thebase portion. The preformed sleeve may further comprise a detachableupper sleeve portion generally sized to enclose a floral grouping whichwhen detached allows the skirt portion to extend angularly from the baseportion when a pot is disposed within the base portion of the sleeve.The upper portion when present may be detachable via perforations, tearstrips, weakened areas, or zippers. The upper sleeve portion may have anextended upper portion for serving as a handle or support device. Thefolds or expansion elements may extend the entire length from the lowerend of the base portion to the upper end of the sleeve or may extendonly an intermediate distance therebetween.

[0034] The expansion elements may be a plurality of vertical pleats, aplurality of vertical folds each having a Z-shaped cross section, aplurality of vertical accordion-type folds, or other similar types ofexpandable forms.

[0035] The preformed sleeve may form part of a plant package when usedin conjunction with a pot disposed within the inner retaining space ofthe base portion of the preformed sleeve, the pot having a floralgrouping disposed therein, and wherein the pot is substantiallysurrounded and encompassed by the base portion and the floral groupingis substantially surrounded and encompassed and enclosed by the uppersleeve portion when it forms a part of the preformed sleeve.

[0036] Also, the base portion may comprise a bonding material disposedon an inner peripheral surface thereof for bondingly connecting to a potdisposed therein. Further, the upper sleeve portion when present extendsfrom the upper end of the skirt portion, or may be connected to the baseportion. When the upper sleeve portion is connected to the base portion,it may be connected to an inner peripheral surface of the base portion,leaving the skirt portion exposed, or it may be attached to an outerperipheral surface of the base portion, and may thereby enclose theskirt portion until it is detached from the base portion.

[0037] The base portion and the skirt portion of the preformed tubularsleeve may be constructed from a first material and the upper sleeveportion constructed from a second material different from the firstmaterial. The base portion and the upper sleeve portion of the preformedsleeve may be constructed from a first material and the skirt portionconstructed from a second material different from the first material.The preformed sleeve may comprise a portion of a plant package whichadditionally comprises a pot disposed within the sleeve, the pot havinga floral grouping disposed therein, and wherein the pot is substantiallysurrounded and encompassed by the base portion.

[0038] These embodiments and others of the present invention are nowdescribed in more detail below. It will be appreciated that the examplesprovided herein are not intended to limit the scope and extent of theclaimed invention but are only intended to exemplify various embodimentsof the invention contemplated herein.

[0039] The Embodiments and Methods of Use of FIGS. 1-25F

[0040] Shown in FIG. 1 and designated therein by the general referencenumeral 10 is a flexible preformed sleeve of unitary construction. Thesleeve 10 preferably initially comprises a flexible flat collapsed pieceof material which is openable in the form of a tube or sleeve. In analternative embodiment, the sleeve may be formed in an openedfrusto-conical configuration. The sleeve 10 is preferably taperedoutwardly from the lower end toward a larger diameter at its upper end.In its flattened state the sleeve 10 has an overall trapezoidal ormodified trapezoidal shape, and when opened is substantiallyfrusto-conical to coniform. It will be appreciated, however, that thesleeve 10 may comprise variations on the aforementioned shapes or maycomprise significantly altered shapes such as square or rectangular,wherein the sleeve 10 when opened has a cylindrical form, as long as thesleeve 10 functions in accordance with the present invention in themanner described herein.

[0041] The sleeve 10 has an upper end 12, a lower end 14, an outerperipheral surface 16 and in its flattened state has a first side 18 anda second side 20. The sleeve 10 has an opening 22 at the upper end 12and may be open at the lower end 14 (not shown), or closed with a bottomat the lower end 14. The sleeve 10 also has an inner peripheral surface24 which, when the sleeve 10 is opened, defines and encompasses an innerretaining space 23. When the lower end 14 of the sleeve 10 is closed, aportion of the lower end 14 may be inwardly or outwardly folded to formone or more gussets 26 constructed in a manner well known to one ofordinary skill in the art as shown in FIG. 1 for permitting a circularbottom of an object such as a potted plant (not shown) to be disposedinto the inner retaining space 23 of the lower end 14 of the sleeve 10.Further the lower end 14 may be constructed in the manner shown incopending U.S. Ser. No. 08/606,957, the specification of which is herebyincorporated herein in its entirety. FIG. 2 shows a sleeve 10 a formedwithout a gusset in a lower end 14 a.

[0042] The sleeve 10 is generally frusto-conically shaped, but thesleeve 10 may be, by way of example but not by way of limitation,cylindrical, frusto-conical, a combination of both frusto-conical andcylindrical, or any other shape, as long as the sleeve 10 functions asdescribed herein as noted above. Further, the sleeve 10 may comprise anyshape, whether geometric, non-geometric, asymmetrical and/or fanciful aslong as it functions in accordance with the present invention. Thesleeve 10 may also be equipped with drainage holes (e.g., one or moreholes) in the base portion or bottom thereof or ventilation holes (notshown) in the base or upper sleeve portion, or can be made frompermeable or impermeable materials.

[0043] The material from which the sleeve 10 is constructed preferablyhas a thickness in a range from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils. Often,the thickness of the sleeve 10 is in a range from about 0.5 mil to about10 mils. Preferably, the sleeve 10 has a thickness in a range from about1.0 mil to about 5 mils. More preferably, the sleeve 10 is constructedfrom a material which is flexible, semi-rigid, rigid, or any combinationthereof. The sleeve 10 may be constructed of a single layer of materialor a plurality of layers of the same or different types of materials.Any thickness of the material may be utilized as long as the materialfunctions in accordance with the present invention as described herein.The layers of material comprising the sleeve 10 may be connectedtogether or laminated or may be separate layers. Such materials used toconstruct the sleeve 10 are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,637entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping” issued to Weder et al.,on May 12, 1992, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Anythickness of material may be utilized in accordance with the presentinvention as long as the sleeve 10 may be formed as described herein,and as long as the formed sleeve 10 may contain at least a portion of apot or potted plant or a floral grouping, as described herein.Additionally, an insulating material such as bubble film, preferable asone of two or more layers, can be utilized in order to provideadditional protection for the item, such as the floral grouping,contained therein.

[0044] In one embodiment, the sleeve 10 may be constructed from a sheetcomprising two polypropylene films. The material comprising the sleeve10 may be connected together or laminated or may be separate layers. Inan alternative embodiment, the sleeve 10 may be constructed from onlyone of the polypropylene films.

[0045] The sleeve 10 is constructed from any suitable material that iscapable of being formed into a sleeve and wrapped about a pot and afloral grouping disposed therein. Preferably, the material comprisesuntreated or treated paper, metal foil, polymeric film, non-polymericfilm, woven or non-woven fabric, natural or synthetic fabric, cardboard,fiber, cloth, burlap, or laminations or combinations thereof.

[0046] The term “polymeric film” means a man-made polymeric film such asa polypropylene or a naturally occurring polymeric film such ascellophane. A polymeric film is relatively strong and not as subject totearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paper orfoil.

[0047] The material comprising the sleeve 10 may vary in color and mayconsist of designs or decorative patterns which are printed, etched,and/or embossed thereon using inks or other printing materials. Anexample of an ink which may be applied to the surface of the material isdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,706 entitled “Water Based Ink On FoilAnd/Or Synthetic Organic Polymer” issued to Kingman on Sep. 15, 1992 andwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

[0048] In addition, the material may have various colorings, coatings,flocking and/or metallic finishes, or other decorative surfaceornamentation applied separately or simultaneously or may becharacterized totally or partially by pearlescent, translucent,transparent, iridescent, neon, or the like, qualities. The material mayfurther comprise, or have applied thereto, one or more scents. Each ofthe above-named characteristics may occur alone or in combination andmay be applied to the upper and/or lower surface of the materialcomprising the sleeve 10. Moreover, portions of the material used inconstructing the sleeve 10 may vary in the combination of suchcharacteristics. The material utilized for the sleeve 10 itself may beopaque, translucent, transparent, or partially clear or tintedtransparent.

[0049] The term “floral grouping” as used herein means cut freshflowers, artificial flowers, a single flower or other fresh and/orartificial plants or other floral materials and may include othersecondary plants and/or ornamentation or artificial or natural materialswhich add to the aesthetics of the overall floral grouping. The floralgrouping comprises a bloom or foliage portion and a stem portion.Further, the floral grouping may comprise a growing potted plant havinga root portion (not shown) as well. However, it will be appreciated thatthe floral grouping may consist of only a single bloom or only foliage,or a botanical item (not shown), or a propagule (not shown). The term“floral grouping” may be used interchangeably herein with both the terms“floral arrangement” and “potted plant”. The term “floral grouping” mayalso be used interchangeably herein with the terms “botanical item”and/or “propagule.”

[0050] The term “growing medium” when used herein means any liquid,solid or gaseous material used for plant growth or for the cultivationof propagules, including organic and inorganic materials such as soil,humus, perlite, vermiculite, sand, water, and including the nutrients,fertilizers or hormones or combinations thereof required by the plantsor propagules for growth.

[0051] The term “botanical item” when used herein means a natural orartificial herbaceous or woody plant, taken singly or in combination.The term “botanical item” also means any portion or portions of naturalor artificial herbaceous or woody plants including stems, leaves,flowers, blossoms, buds, blooms, cones, or roots, taken singly or incombination, or in groupings of such portions such as bouquet or floralgrouping.

[0052] The term “propagule” when used herein means any structure capableof being propagated or acting as an agent of reproduction includingseeds, shoots, stems, runners, tubers, plants, leaves, roots or spores.

[0053] In accordance with the present invention, a bonding material (notshown) may be disposed on a portion of the sleeve 10 to assist inholding the sleeve 10 to the pot having the floral grouping therein whensuch a pot is disposed within the sleeve or to assist in closing orsealing the upper portion of the sleeve 10 or in adhering the sleeve 10to the pot after the pot has been disposed therein, as will be discussedin further detail below.

[0054] It will be understood that the bonding material may be disposedas a strip or block on a surface of the sleeve 10. The bonding materialmay also be disposed upon either the outer peripheral surface 16 or theinner peripheral surface 24 of the sleeve 10, as well as upon the pot.Further, the bonding material may be disposed as spots of bondingmaterial, or in any other geometric, non-geometric, asymmetric, orfanciful form, and in any pattern including covering either the entireinner peripheral surface and/or outer peripheral surface of the sleeve10 and/or the pot or pot cover. The bonding material may be covered by acover or release strip which can be removed prior to the use of thesleeve, pot or pot cover. The bonding material can be applied by meansknown to those of ordinary skill in their art. One method for disposinga bonding material, in this case an adhesive, is described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,111,637 entitled “Method For Wrapping A Floral Grouping” issued toWeder et al., on May 12, 1992, which has been incorporated by referenceabove.

[0055] The term “bonding material” when used herein means an adhesive,frequently a pressure sensitive adhesive, or a cohesive. When thebonding material is a cohesive, a similar cohesive material must beplaced on the adjacent surface for bondingly contacting and bondinglyengaging with the cohesive material. The term “bonding material” alsoincludes materials which are heat sealable and, in this instance, theadjacent portions of the material must be brought into contact and thenheat must be applied to effect the seal. The term “bonding material”also includes materials which are sonic sealable and vibratory sealable.The term “bonding material” when used herein also means a heat sealinglacquer or hot melt material which may be applied to the material and,in this instance, heat, sound waves, or vibrations, also must be appliedto effect the sealing.

[0056] Alternatively, a cold seal adhesive may be utilized as thebonding material. The cold seal adhesive adheres only to a similarsubstrate, acting similarly as a cohesive, and binds only to itself. Thecold seal adhesive, since it bonds only to a similar substrate, does notcause a residue to build up on equipment, thereby both permitting muchmore rapid disposition and use of such equipment to form articles andreducing labor costs. Further, since no heat is required to effect theseal, the dwell time, that is, the time for the sheet of material toform and retain the shape of an article, such as a flower pot cover orflower pot, is reduced. A cold seal adhesive binds quickly and easilywith minimal pressure, and such a seal is not readily releasable. Thischaracteristic is different from, for example, a pressure sensitiveadhesive.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 1, the sleeve 10 in one embodiment is demarcatedinto an upper portion 30 and a lower portion 32. The lower portion 32 ofthe sleeve 10 is generally sized to contain a potted plant (not shown).The upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 is sized to substantially surroundand encompass a floral grouping contained within the potted plantdisposed within the lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10. The sleeve 10 isdemarcated into the upper portion 30 and the lower portion 32 by adetaching element 34 for enabling the detachment of the upper portion 30of the sleeve 10 from the lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10. In thepresent version, the detaching element 34 is a plurality of generallycurved, scalloped, laterally-oriented or alternatinglydiagonally-oriented perforations which extend circumferentially acrossthe outer peripheral surface 16 of the sleeve 10 from the first side 18to the second side 20. The term “detaching element,” as used generallyherein, means any element, or combination of elements, or features, suchas, but not by way of limitation, perforations, tear strips, zippers,and any other devices or elements of this nature known in the art, orany combination thereof, which enable the tearing away or detachment ofone object from another. Therefore, while perforations are shown anddescribed in detail herein, it will be understood that tear strips,zippers, or any other “detaching elements” known in the art, or anycombination thereof, could be substituted therefore and/or usedtherewith.

[0058] In a preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower portion32 of the sleeve 10 further comprises a base portion 36, and a skirtportion 38. The base portion 36 comprises that part of the lower portion32 which, when a pot is placed into the lower portion 32, has an innerperipheral surface 24 which is substantially adjacent to and surroundsthe outer peripheral surface of the pot (not shown). The skirt portion38 comprises that portion of the lower portion 32 which extends beyondan upper rim of the pot and adjacent at least a portion, generally alower portion, of the floral grouping contained within the pot and whichis left to freely extend at an angle, inwardly or outwardly, from thebase portion 36 when the upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 is detachedfrom the lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10 by actuation of the detachingelement 34. In the intact sleeve 10, the skirt portion 38 comprises anupper peripheral edge congruent with the detaching element 34 which isconnected to a lower peripheral edge, also congruent with the detachingelement 34, of the upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10. In FIG. 1, theupper peripheral edge of the skirt portion 38 is congruent with a seriesof alternatingly diagonally-oriented lines of perforations whichtogether form a zig-zag and comprise the detaching element 34.

[0059] The upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 may also have an additionalvertical detaching element comprising a plurality of verticalperforations (not shown) for facilitating removal of the upper portion30 and which are disposed more or less vertically therein extendingbetween the detaching element 34 of the sleeve 10 and the upper end 12.The upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10 is separable from the lowerportion 32 of the sleeve 10 by tearing the upper portion 30 along boththe vertical perforations (when present) and the detaching element 34,thereby separating the upper portion 30 from the lower portion 32 of thesleeve 10. The lower portion 32 of the sleeve 10 remains disposed as thebase portion 36 about the pot and as the skirt portion 38 about thefloral grouping forming a decorative cover 48 (FIG. 9) whichsubstantially surrounds and encompasses the potted plant.

[0060] It will be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the artthat equipment and devices for forming floral sleeves are commerciallyavailable, and are well known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.Therefore, further discussion of the construction of the coversdescribed herein is not deemed necessary.

[0061] As noted above, the sleeve 10 may have an open or closed lowerend 14. When the lower end 14 is closed the lower end 14 may have one ormore gussets 26 formed therein such as that seen in sleeve 10 in FIG. 1for allowing expansion of the lower end 14 when an object with a broadlower end such as a pot is disposed therein. In another version of thepresent invention a strip of bonding material (not shown) may bedisposed adjacent the upper end 12 of the sleeve for allowing the upperend 12 to be sealed for enclosing the upper portion 30 of the sleeve 10about a floral grouping disposed therein. In another version of thepresent invention, a sleeve may comprise a flap (not shown) positionedat the upper end 12 which can be folded over and sealed with a flapbonding strip to an adjacent portion of the outer peripheral surface 16of the sleeve near the upper end 12 thereof. Other versions of thesleeve (not shown) may comprise ventilation holes or drainage holes inthe lower portion 32 for allowing movement of gases or moisture to andaway from the inner retaining space 23 of the sleeve 10.

[0062] In another version of the present invention (not shown), thesleeve 10 may comprise an inner strip or area of bonding material (notshown) disposed upon a portion of the inner peripheral surface 24 of thelower portion 32 which functions to enable the inner peripheral surface24, or a portion thereof, to be bondingly connected to the outerperipheral surface of the pot disposed therein causing the sleeve 10 tobe bondingly connected to the pot.

[0063] In another embodiment (not shown), the sleeve 10, may furthercomprise an extended portion having apertures therein, which portionextends away from a portion of the upper end 12 of the sleeve 10 forallowing the sleeve 10 to be supported on a support assemblycommercially available and known by one of ordinary skill in the artsuch as a pair of wickets for shipment, storage, assembly of the sleeve10, placement of the pot within the sleeve 10, or other functions knownin the art. The extension may have a plurality of perforations or otherdetaching elements for allowing the extension to be removed from theupper end 12 after the sleeve 10 has been provided for use as describedelsewhere herein. Alternatively, the sleeve 10 may be supported byapertures in the upper portion 10. In another version of the invention(not shown), the sleeve 10 has an extended portion comprising a handlefor carrying the potted plant package by the sleeve (10). The sleeve 10may further comprise a detaching element comprising perforations forremoving the handle at a later time.

[0064] Other versions of the present invention (not shown), may compriseadditional perforated areas for enhancing angularity of the extension ofthe skirt portion 38 away from the base portion 36 after the upperportion 30 of the sleeve 10 has been detached. Examples of such sleevesdescribed above herein comprising these additional features are shown inFIGS. 6-8 and 14-20 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979 and the correspondingdescriptions therein, which are specifically hereby incorporated hereinby reference.

[0065] The sleeve 10 herein is further contemplated as having extension(or expansion) elements comprising at least one vertically oriented fold40 which may extend from the upper end 12 to the lower end 14 of thesleeve 10.

[0066] The one or more folds 40 extend at least from a portion of thebase portion 36 to a portion of the skirt portion 38 and may extend intothe upper portion 30 as shown in FIG. 1. The extension elements,comprising the one or more folds 40, functions to allow expansion of aportion of the base portion 36 and of the skirt portion 38 of the sleeve10 when a pot is inserted into the inner retaining space 23 of thesleeve 10.

[0067] As shown in FIG. 1, each fold 40 of the sleeve 10 comprises oneor more areas of excess material shaped in the form of a pleat whichextends from the base portion 36 to the upper end 12 of the sleeve 10.As used herein, the term “excess material” means an amount of materialwhich has a greater surface area than would actually be necessary toform that portion of the plant covering were that portion of the plantcovering actually flattened. The fold 40 can expand causing portions ofthe upper sleeve portion 30 and/or the skirt portion 38 to extendangularly from the base portion 36.

[0068] As contemplated herein, the invention further comprises aconnected portion 44 which comprises connected overlapped portions ofthe folds 40 of the sleeve 10. The folds 40 comprising the connectedportion 44 are preferably connected by an adhesive or cohesive bondingmaterial 46 which is disposed upon a portion of the inner peripheralsurface 24, and/or outer peripheral surface 16 of the base portion 36 ofthe sleeve 10. The bonding material 46 may extend upon a portion of theskirt portion 38. The connected portion 44 is preferably located at anupper end 37 of the base portion 36 below the skirt portion 38 and mayextend completely or partially about the circumference of the sleeve 10.The connected portion 44 of the folds 40 may be located on the innerperipheral surface 24 or outer peripheral surface 16 of the base portion36 of the sleeve 10. The connected portion 44 functions to constrict theexpansion of the folds 40 of the upper end 37 of the base portion 36when a pot is disposed within the sleeve 10, thereby causing the skirtportion 38 to extend at an angle, for example, outwardly, from the baseportion 36 of the sleeve 10 as will be described in more detail below.

[0069] The folds 40 in the sleeve 10 contemplated herein may beconstructed in such a manner that each fold 40 extends completely fromthe lower end 14 of the sleeve 10 to the upper end 12 of the sleeve 10as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively as shown in FIG. 2, a sleeve 10 a maycomprise folds 40 a which are parallel such that some of the folds 40 aextend the entire distance from the upper end 12 a to the lower end 14a, while other folds 40 a, particularly those near sides 18 a and 20 a,extend from the upper end 12 a only part of the distance toward thelower end 14 a of the sleeve 10 a and may intersect sides 18 a or 20 a.The folds 40 a in sleeve 10 a are substantially parallel when the sleeve10 a is in the flattened condition. Henceforth the term “tapering folds”will be used in reference to the pattern of folds in the embodiment ofsleeve 10 of FIG. 1 while the term “parallel folds” will be used inreference to the pattern of folds in the embodiment of sleeve 10 a ofFIG. 2.

[0070] Attention is now drawn to the embodiment of a sleeve of thepresent invention designated by reference numeral 10 b in FIG. 3. Sleeve10 b is constructed without a detachable upper sleeve portion. Sleeve 10b has tapered folds 40 b and has a skirt portion 38 b which in theflattened condition extends at an angle from a base portion 36 b and hasa connected portion 44 b which is similar to the connected portion 44described above. Sleeve 10 b is shown as having a bonding material 46 bfor connecting the tapered folds 40 b in the connected portion 44 bwhich is externally disposed on the outer peripheral surface 16 b of thebase portion 36 b, however the bonding material 46 b may also bedisposed internally upon the inner peripheral surface (not shown) of thebase portion 36 b in the same manner as described for bonding material46 in sleeve 10. The sleeve of FIG. 4 designated by the referencenumeral 10 c is similar to the sleeve 10 b except it has folds 40 cwhich are parallel, and has a lower end 14 c which has a straight seal.It will of course be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the artthat sleeve 10 c may be formed with a gussetted bottom, and sleeve lob,may be formed without a gussetted bottom. Referring now to FIGS. 5 and6, sleeves 10 d and 10 e are similar to sleeves 10 b and 10 c,respectively, except the angle of the outer edge of skirt portions 38 dand 38 e forms a straight line with the outer edge of base portions 36 dand 36 e, respectively. The skirt portion of any of the sleeves definedherein may extend at other angles not described herein such as at aninwardly facing angle.

[0071] Shown in FIG. 7 is a sleeve 10 f which exemplifies the embodimentwherein a connected portion 44 f is connected internally by a bondingmaterial 46 f disposed on the inner peripheral surface (not shown) ofthe sleeve 10 f.

[0072] Referring now to FIG. 8, the sleeve 10 of FIG. 1 is shown ashaving a pot 50 disposed therein, in phantom view. The pot 50 has anupper end 52, a lower end 54, and an outer peripheral surface 56, andhas a plant or floral grouping 58 disposed therein. The upper portion 30of the sleeve 10 surrounds and generally encompasses the floral grouping58. When the upper portion 30 is detached along the detaching element34, the skirt portion 38 extends away from the upper end 37 of the baseportion 36, for example in a manner as shown in FIG. 9, which shows adecorative cover 48 which is left surrounding the pot 50 after the uppersleeve portion 30 has been detached. It will be understood by a personof ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9exemplify the combination of any of the sleeves described in FIGS. 1-7as will be obvious in light of the disclosure provided herewith.

[0073] It will generally be desired to use the sleeve 10 as a coveringfor a potted plant (FIGS. 8-9). As shown in FIG. 8, the lower end 54 ofthe pot 50 is closed but may have holes (not shown) for permitting waterdrainage. The term “pot” as used herein refers to any type of containerused for holding a floral grouping or plant. Examples of pots, used inaccordance with the present invention include, but not by way oflimitation, clay pots, wooden pots, plastic pots, pots made from naturaland/or synthetic fibers, or any combination thereof. The pot is adaptedto receive a floral grouping. The floral grouping may be disposed withinthe pot along with a suitable growing medium described in further detailbelow, or other retaining medium, such as a floral foam. It will also beunderstood that the floral grouping, and any appropriate growing mediumor other retaining medium, may be disposed in the sleeve without a pot.

[0074] Referring now to FIGS. 10-12, a preferred method of how thepresent invention is employed is shown. Shown in FIG. 10 is a sleevesuch as sleeve 10 d of FIG. 5. The pot 50 is disposed into an innerretaining space of sleeve 10 d in a direction 60. As the pot 50 isdisposed within the sleeve 10 d, the pot 50 begins to deform the baseportion 36 d and begins to cause the folds 40 d to expand as shown inFIG. 11. As the pot 50 is further disposed with the sleeve 10 d, the pot50 causes the base portion 36 d to further expand in an outwarddirection 62 as shown in FIG. 12. As the pot 50 exerts pressure on theinner peripheral surface 24 d of the sleeve 10 d and upon the connectedportion 44 d, the skirt portion 38 d is caused to expand a distanceoutwardly angularly from the upper end 37 d of the base portion 36 d. Inan alternative embodiment the skirt portion 38 d may be caused to extendat an inward direction (not shown) toward the floral grouping 58.

[0075] Referring now to FIG. 13, attention is drawn to the sleevedesignated by the general reference numeral 10 g which is similar to thesleeve 10 except sleeve 10 g has portions therein, designated by thereference numeral 64 which are formed without folds 40 g therein. Itwill be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that thesize, extent and area of the portions 64 may vary according to thedesired structure, performance, and manner of use of the sleeve.

[0076] Shown in FIG. 14 is a sleeve 10 h, having the pot 50 therein. Thesleeve 10 h is similar to any of sleeves 10-10 g described previouslyexcept the folds 40 h extend various vertical distances and generally donot extend all the way to a lower end 14 h of the sleeve 10 h. FIG. 15shows a sleeve 10 i which is similar to the sleeve 10 h except sleeve 10i has detachable upper portion 30 i. FIG. 16 shows a cross-section ofsleeve 10 i showing the pleated construction of folds 40 i and theportion 64 of the sleeve 10 i lacking a fold 40 i.

[0077] Shown in FIG. 17 is a sleeve 10 j which is similar to the sleeve10 g except the folds, designated by the reference numeral 40 j, arez-shaped in cross-section. Sleeve 10 k of FIG. 18 is similar to sleeve10 h of FIG. 14 except the folds, designated as folds 40 k, are z-shapedin cross-section like the folds 40 j of sleeve 10 j. Sleeve 101 of FIG.19 is similar to sleeve 10 i of FIG. 15 except the folds 401 arez-shaped in cross-section. Sleeve 101 is shown in cross-section in FIG.20.

[0078] Shown in FIG. 21 is a sleeve 10 m which is similar to the sleeve10 g except the folds, designated by the reference numeral 40 m, arefluted, or accordion-shaped in cross-section. Sleeve 10 n of FIG. 22 issimilar to sleeve 10 h of FIG. 14 except the folds, designated as folds40 n, are fluted, or accordion-shaped in cross-section like the folds 40m of sleeve 10 m. Sleeve 10 p is similar to sleeve 10 i of FIG. 15except the folds 40 p are fluted, or accordion-shaped in cross-section.Sleeve 10 p is shown in cross-section in FIG. 24.

[0079] The protective “upper sleeve portion” and the “base portion” ofthe sleeve and components of the present invention may comprise aunitary construction, as described in the versions of the inventionexemplified in FIGS. 1-24, or may comprise separately formed componentswhich are attached together by various bonding materials, as describedfor example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,979 mentioned supra.

[0080] In an alternative version of the invention (not shown), a bondingmaterial may be disposed on the outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot50 while the sleeve 10-10 p is free of a bonding material (except forthe bonding material used to form the connected portion of the folds).In this case, when the pot 50 is disposed into the open sleeve 10-10 p,the bonding material on the outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot 50engages a portion of the inner peripheral surface 24 of the sleeve 10-10p causing the sleeve 10-10 p to be bondingly connected to a portion ofthe outer peripheral surface 56 of the pot 50.

[0081] In yet another version of the method of the present invention(not shown), a bonding material may be disposed on both the outerperipheral surface 56 of the pot 50 and the inner peripheral surface 24of the sleeve 10-10 p. In such a case, preferably the bonding materialboth of the pot 50 and the sleeve 10-10 p is a cohesive which allowsbonding to a surface covered with the cohesive but not to dissimilarsurfaces.

[0082] As shown in FIGS. 1-24, the skirt portion 38 preferably comprisesa plurality of “petals”. It will be understood, however, that the designof the skirt portion 38 is not meant to be limited to a “petal” designand may be constructed in any number of other decorative patterns,several being shown in FIGS. 25A-25F. For example, FIG. 25A shows asleeve 10 q having a skirt portion 38 q having a crenate or scallopedpattern. FIG. 25B shows a sleeve 10 r having a skirt portion 38 r havinga crenate or scalloped pattern which is inverted. FIG. 25C shows asleeve 10 s having a skirt portion 38 s having a crenulate toothed orzig-zag pattern. FIG. 25D shows a sleeve 10 t having a skirt portion 38t having a crenelated or rectangular-shaped pattern. FIG. 25E shows asleeve 10 u having a skirt portion 38 u having a diagonal patternslanted upwardly from one side of the sleeve 10 u to the other. FIG. 25Fshows a sleeve 10 v having a skirt portion 38 v having a curved or wavypattern. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand these are buta few of the patterns that the perforations may form and one of ordinaryskill could contemplate many other suitable patterns.

[0083] The sleeves described herein may be formed by intermittentlyadvancing two separate webs, one or two webs preformed in the form of atube, or a single web folded double and sealing the longitudinal sidesand bottom of the two facing panels then cutting the sleeve thus formedfrom the webs or web. Machines which can form sleeves from such singlewebs or pairs of webs are well within the knowledge of one of ordinaryskill in the art.

[0084] It should also be noted that for all versions of sleevesdescribed, it may be desirable to have a release material or cover stripcovering the adhesive or cohesive bonding material disposed on anyportion of the sleeve for preventing the bonding material from bondingto another surface until the desired time. Further in each of the casesdescribed herein wherein a sleeve is applied to a pot or a covered pot,the sleeve may be applied thereto either by depositing the pot orcovered pot downwardly into the open retaining space of the sleeve, orthe sleeve may be brought upwardly about the pot or covered pot frombelow the pot or a covered pot.

[0085] It should be further noted that various features of the versionsof the present invention such as closure bonding areas, supportextensions, handles, additional perforations, drainage holes,ventilation holes, combinations of material may be used alone or incombination as elements of any of the embodiments described aboveherein.

[0086] Changes may be made in the construction and the operation of thevarious components, elements and assemblies described herein or in thesteps or the sequence of steps of the methods described herein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A preformed sleeve for covering a pot, thepreformed sleeve initially having a flattened state, comprising: a baseportion having an upper end, a lower end, and an interior space whenopened; extension elements comprising a plurality of folds in the baseportion; and a connected portion comprising portions of the folds in thebase portion which are connected for constricting expansion of an upperportion of the base portion.
 2. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 whereinthe base portion is further defined as being sized to substantiallycover an outer peripheral surface of a pot.
 3. The preformed sleeve ofclaim 1 further defined as constructed from a material having athickness in a range of from about 0.1 mil to about 30 mils.
 4. Thepreformed sleeve of claim 1 further defined as having a gusset in thelower end of the base portion.
 5. The preformed sleeve of claim 1further defined as constructed from a material selected from the groupconsisting of treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymeric film,non-polymeric film, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, and laminations orcombinations thereof.
 6. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 furthercomprising an extended portion for serving as a handle or supportdevice.
 7. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 wherein the base portion hasa drainage element therein.
 8. The preformed sleeve of claim 1 whereinthe folds in the extension elements are continuous in the base portionfrom the lower end tot he upper end.
 9. A preformed sleeve for coveringa pot, the preformed sleeve initially having a flattened state,comprising: a lower portion having an upper end and an interior spacewhen opened; a detachable upper sleeve portion extending beyond theupper end of the lower portion and sized to substantially surround andenclose a floral grouping; extension elements comprising a plurality offolds in the lower portion; and a connected portion comprising portionsof the folds in the lower portion which are connected for constrictingexpansion of a portion of the lower portion.
 10. The preformed sleeve ofclaim 9 wherein the lower portion is further defined as being sized tocontain the pot.
 11. The preformed sleeve of claim 9 further defined asconstructed from a material having a thickness in a range of from about0.1 mil to about 30 mils.
 12. The preformed sleeve of claim 9 furtherdefined as constructed from a material selected from the groupconsisting of treated or untreated paper, metal foil, polymeric film,non-polymeric film, cardboard, fiber, cloth, burlap, and laminations orcombinations thereof.
 13. The preformed sleeve of claim 9 furthercomprising an extended portion for serving as a handle or supportdevice.
 14. The preformed sleeve of claim 9 wherein the lower portionhas drainage element therein.
 15. The preformed sleeve of claim 9wherein the folds in the extension elements are continuous within thelower portion.
 16. A method of covering a pot having an upper end, alower end, and an outer peripheral surface, comprising the steps of:providing a preformed sleeve initially having a flattened state,comprising: a base portion having an upper end, a lower end, and aninterior space when opened, and; an extension comprising a plurality offolds in the base portion, and the base portion having a connectedportion comprising portions of the folds which are connected forconstricting expansion of an upper portion of the base portion; anddisposing a pot into the interior space of the preformed sleeve.
 17. Themethod of claim 16 wherein in the preformed sleeve the folds at least aportion of the plurality of are continuous between the lower end and theupper end of the base portion.
 18. The method of claim 16 wherein thebase portion comprises a gusset in the lower end thereof.